Rotavirus Vaccination and the Risk of Celiac Disease or Type 1 Diabetes in Finnish Children at Early Life

Abstract

Background:

Rotavirus infection has been suggested as a trigger of type 1 diabetes (T1D)-related autoimmunity and celiac disease (CD)-related autoimmunity.

Methods:

We carried out a nationwide, population-based cohort study evaluating whether prevention of rotavirus infection with vaccination affects the risk of CD and T1D diagnosed during 2009–2014 in Finnish children by comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children in a cohort born in 2009–2010. Nationwide rotavirus vaccination records were collected from healthcare databases during 2009–2011 and validated for a sample of 495 children born from July 2009 to December 2009. Incident diagnoses of CD and T1D during 2009–2014 in the cohort were identified in the National Care Register.

Results:

The adjusted relative risks (with 95% confidence intervals) were 0.91 (0.69–1.20) for T1D and 0.87 (0.65–1.17) for CD in vaccinated children compared with unvaccinated, suggesting that oral rotavirus vaccination does not alter the risk of CD or T1D during 4–6 years follow-up after vaccination.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that oral rotavirus vaccination is considered safe in the individuals at risk of CD and T1D.